Research is the third major component of the Center for Excellence in Minority Health but, in the long run, it is the most important component and the one most likely to result in the central objective of the Center, which is to address and ultimately eliminate minority health disparities. As a new research institute, in the early stages of growing a critical mass of experienced investigators, we have formed partnership with the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the Jackson Heart Study Coordinating Center to carry out a number of important collaborative studies addressing minority health. We propose an initial program of research involving two "sub-cores" in Cancer (Ernest Izevbigie, Ph.D., Core Director) and Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke (Robert Garrison, Ph.D., Core Director). Over the course of the five-year project other sub-cores will be developed, e.g., maternal-child health